Electrical power has been a part of modern life for more than a century and has become a familiar indoor convenience. Indoors, almost every appliance for daily use requires electrical power. However, outdoor access to electrical power cannot yet be described as convenient.
For those who use electrically powered equipment and devices outdoors, provision of electrical power presents immediate difficulties. For larger equipment and devices, batteries are not practical. While vertical wall-mounted receptacles are known for outdoor power distribution, such receptacles require use of an extension cord to distribute power to any significant distance from the wall. The inconveniences associated with use of an extension cord, such as a tripping hazard, essentially limit outdoor power distribution to locations near the wall-mounted receptacle.
In order to provide electrical power at locations distant from existing walls, various devices have been proposed. For example, post-mounted outdoor receptacles have been provided. However, the post-mounted receptacles can be visually obtrusive. Additionally, the post-mounted receptacles are prone to inadvertent displacement or damage due to their protruding structure.
Electrical boxes for mounting electrical connection points outdoors in the ground are known. Moisture is one issue with enclosures installed in the ground. While some current electrical boxes attempt to prevent the electrical connection points from getting wet, they do so by sacrificing accessibility. Those current boxes are best suited for applications requiring a long-term electrical connection such that once the connection is made, a user does not need to often access that connection. Those current enclosures are not well suited for applications where a variety of devices that consume electrical power must be routinely connected or disconnected from the connection points. Other known outdoor electrical boxes do attempt to be accessible, but those boxes only make limited attempts to keep water from reaching the faces of the electrical receptacles and the contact points between the receptacles and the terminals of the plugs connected to the receptacles.
For example, in an athletic field, a large public flower garden, or a public park, it may be desirable to provide electrical receptacles for intermittent electrical connections, such as short-term lighting, power washers, and electric maintenance equipment, e.g., hedge trimmers and chain saws. It may also be desirable to provide data or AV connections in these locations, e.g., when no wireless network is available in the area. The connection points must be accessible so that a user can plug and unplug devices as required. Additionally, the electrical box housing such receptacles or data or AV jacks must be able to keep water out of them.
Accordingly, it is desirable to have an electrical box that can be installed in the ground outdoors and that can house electrical connection points that are highly accessible so that intermittent electrical connections can be made but that at the same time are protected from the elements so that the connection points are not damaged and do not present an electrocution hazard.